Williams’ Five RBI Help End Memphis Skid

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Matt Williams drove in five runs, and Arturo Reyes won his third-straight start as the Memphis Redbirds snapped a three-game losing streak with a 10-3 win over the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A Giants) Saturday night in front of 9,038 fans at AutoZone Park.

Prior to Saturday’s 10-run outburst, Memphis had scored a total of 10 runs on its three-game losing streak in Omaha.

Williams was 2-for-2 with a sacrifice fly, a walk, a single and a double, and Charlie Tilson, Greg Garcia and David Washington also had two hits for the Redbirds (14-19). Nick Martini crossed the plate three times in the game, matching Jonathan Rodriguez on April 20 at Oklahoma City for the most in a game by a Redbird this season.

Washington’s two singles extended his hitting streak to seven games, and he has had a hit in eight of his nine games as a Redbird.

Williams’ five RBI were a season-high by a Redbird and the most since Dan Johnson drove in five at Tacoma on August 25, 2015. Tilson, Rodriguez and G. Garcia all swiped bases in the game, and Memphis is now 24-for-27 in stolen bases over its last 22 games.

Reyes allowed six hits and three runs, two earned, in six innings for his third win of the season. Corey Littrell gave up one hit in the ninth inning in his Triple-A debut after being transferred from Springfield (AA) earlier on Saturday. Littrell followed Miguel Socolovich and Heath Wyatt out of the Redbird bullpen.

The Redbirds scored a pair of runs off Sacramento (14-23) in the second inning, but the River Cats had a run in the third and two in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead.

But from there it was all Redbirds, with two walks coming around to score in the fourth and another two runs in the fifth before a four-run seventh put the River Cats away. Reyes retired five of the last six hitters he faced.

In the seventh, the Redbirds’ four runs came on just two hits, and Memphis again made two River Cat walks come back to hurt as both scored.

The series between Memphis and Sacramento continues tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 (CT) on Prairie Farms Ice Cream Sunday, where kids 12 and under get a free ice cream treat, and kids can also run the bases after the game.

The series concludes with Education Days on Monday and Tuesday at 11:05 a.m. both days, and it is also King Cotton $1 Hot Dog Day on Tuesday. After an off-day on Wednesday, Memphis’ eight-game homestand resumes with College Night on Thursday, Silky O’Sullivan’s Irish Heritage Night and green Redbirds hat giveaway on Friday, replica Yadier Molina Cardinals jersey giveaway, Cardinals full-zip hooded sweatshirt theme ticket and postgame fireworks next Saturday and another Prairie Farms Ice Cream Sunday to conclude the homestand on Sunday the 22nd.